The BBC has been accused of "Enron-like" complacency on the day it releases its annual report and accounts.

The corporation came under fire from a Parliamentary select committee, when Labour MP Chris Bryant said: "This feels more like a kind of Enron annual report than a BBC annual report."

Director general Greg Dyke demanded an apology, branding Mr Bryant "disgraceful" for comparing the BBC with a "corrupt financial organisation".

Later, BBC chairman Gavyn Davies said Mr Bryant had written to apologoise for the reference, which had "pretty annoyed" the corporation.

Mr Davies told BBC News Online: "To call, of all things, a report and accounts about the financial performance of the BBC over the last 12 months in any way analogous to what Enron's accounts were - which were fraudulent documents, deliberately fraudulent - is just absurd."

The BBC's report revealed a net debt of £74m but an increase of £346m in spending on programmes.

Enron was a corrupt financially-managed business - that's what you're implying

Greg DykeBBC director general

It said the debt was forecast three years ago when the corporation began its huge digital expansion plans - and it aims to break even by 2006.

In the committee hearing, Mr Bryant, a former BBC executive, said the only criticism its governors mentioned in an assessment of annual performance was about the failure to attract ethnic minority viewers.

"It's fundamentally complacent. At what point would you want to advance any criticism of the BBC at all?" Mr Bryant asked.

Mr Dyke said: "Can I say how deeply we resent the use of the word Enron. Enron was a corrupt financially-managed business. That's what you're implying."

Mr Bryant said he was "happy to apologise for any imputation of anybody being financially corrupt".

Shows like the Walking With... series were praised by the BBC

The BBC chairman told him the BBC presented an upbeat report because he believed the corporation had had a very strong year.

But "there are a large number of things where we make it clear there is further work to do", he said after further questioning.

"We've done a great deal on arts but we've got more to go and we can do better.

In a robust defence of the BBC's journalistic integrity, Mr Dyke said "news, broadcast impartially and independently" were at the heart of its public service remit.

The Foreign Affairs Committee recently cleared Downing Street director of communications Alastair Campbell of "sexing up" the dossier, but said the "jury was still out" over the case for war.

Mr Kaufman said the BBC was "not very honest" for claiming in one part of the report that BBC News 24 was watched by 70% of the population - and at another point that it had a 0.4% share of viewing figures.

Last week the broadcaster admitted its pension scheme was more than £1bn in deficit when calculated using strict new accounting standards - but insisted payouts would not be affected.